I had no idea what to expect when going to New York. I had feared that I would go through a veryy long flight just to go to a polluted city filled with rude people with the con being my only refuge. Thankfully that was not the case. I enjoyed my time at New York Anime Fest and I really enjoyed wandering the city. There was so much that happened that it is difficult to know where to begin.

The city is nothing like it appears in films or television. It is fairly clean, people are fairly polite, and I did not get mugged. I was a bit surprised that people were polite not just because of the media portrayal of New York, but because people are rude out here in the “laid back” West coast. Now there was one or two people who were rude to me, but they had Jersey accents and I will leave it at that.

One thing that I did expect was for it to be easy to get around town. The subway was not very complicated (once you get used to it) and walking around the city is pretty easy. In fact you can walk several miles in the course of the day and not even notice it. I love that you do not need a car to easily get around New York. It was cool to wander Rockefeller Center and Times Square at night; looking at all the lights and craziness of the area. I spent a bit more than I planned to, but with all the shops I dare anyone to stick to a budget.

I also took some time to hit three shows (Chicago, West Side Story, and Jersey Boys) all of which were great. It was nice to meet some of the cast members and wandering the show district was fun just to look at all the posters. I really enjoyed wandering the city and the strange relaxed feeling of getting around was a nice change from the usual Los Angeles traffic.

The convention had a very different style from the usual conventions on the West Coast. The dealer's hall was the heart of the convention as all attendees had their badges checked while going down into the dealer's hall, but after that they were free to go where ever they wished. The Hall connected to the panel rooms, video rooms, the WCG area, and had a pretty good food court as well. I really like this setup it is a nice change from being harassed over and over again by over zealous guards who get on your case for putting you badge away (a consistant problem for cosplayers at some cons). It also makes it easier to find something because you know that it has to connect in one way or another to the main Hall.

Another high point of the convention was the guests. As a California boy, I do not get to see East coast voice talent. Thus getting to meet East coast voice actors was a nice treat for me. Beyond that there was the entire English cast for Soul Eater. Being able to run into the guests wandering around the hall was a surprise because guests are rarely that accessable at a convention. There were also some gret panel featuring the abundant guest list.

Another great part of the convention was the Apple Kissa Maids. After going to two bad maid cafes (Fanime and Anime Expo) and having my favorite removed from a con I did not have high expectations for the Apple Kissa Maids. I am very glad that the maids exceeded my expectations because I really needed a good maid experience. The maids were very polite, they were fun to be around, had no problem with pictures or questions, and they put on a fun show. I can only hope that more conventions take a cue from the Apple Kissa Maids and the Ichigo Café of Anime Vegas.

This is not to say that there were no flaws with New York Anime Fest. There were two major problems for me at the convention. The first problem was transport. There was a shuttle, but it was not reliable at all and we wasted time waiting for it on all three days. Since there is no station close to the Jacob Javits Center we did not have the options of taking a train to the convention. We were lucky enough to figure out that there was a bus route close to the hotel that would take us over quickly. Next time we will rely on the bus and not even bother with the shuttle. It is annoying to go to yet another convention were the shuttle service is unreliable, thankfully it is a problem that is easier to solve in New York.

The other problem I had with this con was the World Cyber Games (WCG) taking up too much space. To be clear I am not a fan of the WCG, I feel it is a waste of time and that there is no such thing as a professional gamer. That would be like being a professional karaoke singer. It is a hobby, not a job. That aside, my real issue comes with the fact that it took up space that could go for other parts of the con. There was no space for “amateur” players. That space could have helped the dealer's hall not feel so crowded. I can understand the desire of the convention staff to expand beyond anime. I loved the fact that several game companies had booths in the dealer's hall, but the WCG area could have been completely removed from the hall and paced in a different part of Jacob Javits. The WCG has no impact on my feeling about the convention, but I hope it is not part of next year's programming.

Overall, I loved spending a long weekend in New York. The city is a great place to visit and the convention was one of the better conventions I have been to this year. I was not sure what to expect with this trip and upon returning home I started thinking about when I can return. As I said before I left “we have unfinished business in New York”. I will come back (hopefully soon) and I look forward to meeting up with all the friends I met there when I get back.

As always, I end my section with a brief commentary as the Convention Critic and my usual list. If you have comments, questions, or complaints feel free to not e-mail me at Jared (at) Scarlet-rhapsody.com. Until next time give my love to the New York maids.

My List: Unfinished Business

1. I already miss New York
2. WCG… don’t care
3. Ralts plushie!!!
4. Good amount of obscure/old school cosplay
5. I saw three great shows
6. To Jigen, Miaka and Taxi girl, great meeting you
7. Times Square is great for photos
8. We still have unfinished business in New York
9. I hate flying
10. I love the rain
11. I also love the maids
12. It’s cliché but…. I love NY…
13. But I hate clichés
14. It was good to see you again Julia
15. What happened to Jesse?
16. There are some really attractive gals in New York
17. Oh was the food good
18. Yay free breakfast!
19. Cool guests
20. Didn’t wear Walter – again!
21. Once again… there are no perfect plans
22. Bishounen Taxi driver huh?
23. Found some nice rare figures
24. The flight: ugh…
25. Singing waiters… yeah…
26. Is it me or is New York only made of steps?
27. Insert cliché New York themed song
28. Subways aren’t that bad
29. No SoCal people… I like that
30. Jersey Boys Power Rangers
31. Can’t wait to go next year
32. Note to self: Go to the East more often
33. Why do I have worse jetlag coming back from Seattle?
34. The rain was nice… but I didn’t bring Reno… weird…
35. Now I’m more broke... broker?
36. I still think Times Square looks like Shibuya
37. The floor we stayed on was my lucky number

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